Gasket



Patented Feb. 13, 1934 GASKET f George A. Barker, Rochester, N. Y.

, Application October 20,

9 Claims.

1932. sei-iai No. ssa-169 01, 28s-1) (Granted under the act ot March 3,1883, as

amended April 30,

This invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me ofany royalty thereon.

This invention relates to gaskets and more particularly to the type ofgaskets made up of a plurality of layers one of which is areinforcementand theothers of which preferably comprise compressible material, theinvention having for its object to provide a construction which may becheaply manufactured and'whch is more efficient in use than thoseheretofore employed.

With these and other objects in view the invention resides in the noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts `as will be disclosedmore fully hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims. 1

' Referring to the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisspecification in which like numerals designate like parts in all theviews,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a `portion of the reinforcement ofcellular nature constituting one of the layers of the complete gasket;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one type of reinforcement contemplated bythis invention;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation ofthe -reinforcement shown in Fig. 2 withcompressible material placed on either side thereof;

' Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 3 afterpressure has been applied `tc the outer surfaces. thereof;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of another form of cellular reinforcement madein accordance with this invention; f

Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken as on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 andlooking in the directionof the arrows, this figure showing thecompressible material associated with said reinforcement;

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail illustrating a modification of the cellularstructure of the reinforcement;

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail illustrating a modification of theenveloping layer construction; and

Fig. 9 is a side elevation showing a gasket, made in accordance withthis invention, applied between the anges of adjacent sections ofpiping.

In order that this invention may be more properly understood it is saidthat in heretofore known gasket constructions there has not been auniform thickness throughout said gasket, par ticularly in the case ofgaskets made by laminating'metallic and fibrous material. This resultwas caused by protuberances formed by portions of the metallic element,or separate metallic elements, employed to hold the laminated gaskettogether. Therefore, leaks commonly occurred from such heretofore knownconstructions, caused by an incomplete seal due to said protuberances,to the end that cements of various kinds including varnish had to beused as a preventive measure 00 but, where such gaskets were usedbetween members of a-mechanical assemblage in which high heat wasdeveloped, these cements have been affected by the heat to the end thatthey usually boiled out, and thus any advantage of said cements waslost. Thisv invention, on the other hand, is directed to the provisionof a gasket made up of plural layers one of which is of metallic andcellular construction, the remaining layers being formed ofc'ompressibler and/or penetrable l0 material.

Referring to the drawing, 1 generally indicates the layer of metallicreinforcement which is of cellular construction, the cells in Fig. 1being -parallelly disposed with reference to each other and openlyextending entirely through said layer. These cells may be of variouscross sectional area and shape that is they may be polygonal asindicated in Fig. 1, hexagonal as shown in Fig. 2, square as shown inFig. 5, or of any other shape including'circul'ar and in this lattercase the layer could be made by soldering,

welding, or otherwise securing al plurality of circular tubes in massformation. i v

`A layer 2.of compressible material such as asbestos wool, rubber, cork,treated paper, or any other suitable substance, and which preferably istreated with water-proofing substances such as resinates, oleates.bitumens or asphalts, is applied to one of the sides of thereinforcement so as to cover one end of the cells of the latter. 'Asimilar layer 3 is applied to the opposite side of the reinforcement tocover the other end of said cells. The layers 2` and 3 may be cementedor not to the reinforcement, this invention also contemplating othermeans of securement than cement, such as stitching, and the attachmentof the various layers may be accomplished by partially compressing thelayers 2 and 3 into the open ended cells of the reinforcement, and/orvbending or crimping the cellular wall about portions of thecompressible material extending into the open ends of the cells. in Fig.3 is particularly vshown the result of this partial compressionresulting in the portions 4 of the compressible material enteringappreciably the open end of .f ame of the cells of the reinforcement.

Further compression of the laminated gasket shown in Fig. 3' produces aconstruction illus- .central portions of the cells of the reinforcementa substantial strengthening of the reinforcing trated in Fig. 4 whereinthe metal reinforcesay, the cells of the row 15 are inclined as shownment is squashed, the upper and lower portions in Fig. 6 from upperright to lower left whereas of said gasket having moved in oppositedirecthe cells of the next adjacent row 16 are inclined tions resultingin an oblique disposition of the from upper left to lower right. Thisresults in and a curving or crimping-of the extreme ends vlayer `sothat, for example, when Ya laminated of the cells about the portions 4of the comgasket made according to this construction is pressiblematerial. This results in a positive placed between the iianges 7 and 9and the bolts lock between the reinforcement and the com- 11 and 12tightened, the open ended cells of the pressible material whilemaintaining the cellular reinforcement will bite deeper into the 'layers2 nature of the reinforcement.v It is to be unand 3 of compressiblematerial in accordance derstood, of course, that this additionalcompres- With the increase of pressure applied n the Sesion of thelaminated gasket is only sufficient Curing bOltS. l to bring about saidlocking relation, and is not In other words. this oppositely directedcellular so great as to cause a complete meshing with construction 0fthe reinforcement isgrilaintainedconsequent destruction of the cells,wherefore t0 @greater degreeullponfhrupiin 0f Dressaid gasket may bestill further compressed whenWSllleiOIlrOpDUSfB SdeS 0f the laminated'gasket, drawing up the adjacent; ends of the mechanical" than ispossible with the construction shown for assemblage between which thegasket is used exemple. in Fie. 3, andtherefore the former is as a sea.not deformed to as great an extent as in the case From the foregoingdescription it win there- Where all 0f the Cells 0f ihereirliorcementare fore be understood that this invention is directed lleliy/d'srposed.t0 vefwlffojth'er. construc-m'd to the formation of a gasket each of Vthe myers tien according t0 the Shewlne 1n Fles. 5 end 6 of which haveparallel plane surfaces so that, Would be moredeslrable.XQIQ.eextlemewples" when the gasket is finally laminated, theexposed Sul'fis Wer? @Xrvted' at the 301m bemg Sealed, Suh 100 sealingsurfaces and 6 will lie substantiallyA ,as mthe CaSe'With extremelyhg'hQTeSSU-TGS 1n in parallel planes, which is the normal desire thePlpng 8 10 01' Where great Tlgldlty Was de' in a'u gaskets. when such agasket-is inserted, sired with respect to the mechanical assemblage. forinstance between the/,gnge 7 of a pipe 8 Otherwise the same principlesare involved in the and the ange Oy adjacent Substantially constructionsof this reinforcement as in the other aligning and/similar pipelO `thena tightening types uusmfaftedf' c of the bolts 1l and l2, passingthrough said All important feature of this invention 1s that,

..anges Wm Compress Said gasket and cause a by any of theseconstructions, the major portion seal of the joint between the surfaces5 and 6 of th? gaskot ils ,comoosed of Cells of metallic thereof and thesurfaces of Said anges. If material which 1s infinitely stronger thanfibrous the bolts 11 and 12 are evenly tightened then or othercompressible material. In other words, the gasket will havesubstantially equal comthe maJor portlon of heretofore known gasketpression throughout. constructions has been material of compressible onthe other hand, and as distinctly Shown nature, and usually any metallicelement in such in Fig. 9, this laminated gasket is of such conagaskeohas been oononod to an onvelop dis' struction that unequaltightening of said bolts posed about the ooolmesslblo mammal; that 1swill still cause a complete seal, due to the fact there has beenp'ovfoed an moet layer of sels" that the extremely thin walls of theGeus of the tively soft compressible material of appreciablereinforcement will yield under the variable presthickness disposedbetween upper and lower'lsyers of extremely thin sheet metal, the metalcoming 120 lo Sgsogilsllf plggrgmllng in contact withthe surfacesof themechanical set in this portion of the laminated gasket assemblagesuchasthefianges'and 9. It therewherefore said bolts do not have to betight; fore resulted that, when these extremely thin ened With theextreme care that mightl be exsheets .of metal were ruptured puncturedor peoted although they win be tightened to "suon otherwse. stoken' thepressure and/or the sub' a degroe asto cause the desired seal. Also thestane wlthm the mechantcal assemblage could yieldable nature of thecompressible material will readuy escape through the mterstlces of theComcreate an internal stress or pressure in the body presslble mammal ofthe laminated gasket, to the end that the external surfaces 5 and 6 ofsaid gasket will lie in sealing contact with the surfaces of the iianges7 and 9. This is markedly contrasted to the seals made by heretoforeknown types of gaskets Whose inner layer is soft fibrous material andWhose outer layers are metallic, usually requiring a fine machining ofthe surfaces of the flanges '7 and 9 to create the sealing contact withthe gasket, and also contrasted to the imsecuring the metallic membersto the fibrous material of said heretofore known gaskets.

In the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6,'th-e cells are of squarecross sectional area, and arranged in parallel rows as shown. However,these cells are obliquely disposed in the block forming the reinforcinglayer and, further, the inclination of the alternate rows is differentfrom the inclination of the intermediate rows. Thot iS t0 Ascontradistinguished from this undesirable result it will be seen thatthis invention provides a metallic cellular construction constitutingthe major portion of the laminated gasket, the reinforcement beingdisposed centrally .of said gasket. Upon applying pressure, as whenforming the seal, the edges of the cells formed by this thin sheet metalbite deeper into thesubstance of the compressible outer layers of thegasket, and could substantially pass therethrough in certain instances.Therefore, any vextremely high mg 8-10 might rupture pressure Within thepip ment, but it is extremely improbable that it would cause a rupturewhich vwould extend clear through said reinforcement, whereby the pres#sure and/or substance in trying to escape from said piping through aruptured cell would pass into and be coniinedin the next adjacent cell.Therefore it is an object ofthis invention to provide the cells withrelatively small cross sectional areas and preferably it isvcontemplated to have such areas approximately equal to oneeighth of asquare inch, although this dimension will be varied appropriatelyaccording to the conditions and usagefor such a gasket. The thickness ofthe sheet metal forming the walls of these cells also may be varied inproportion to the pressure or usage for such a gasket, although with acell area of one-eighth of a square inch, the thickness of Y.the cellwall would be approximately onesixty-fourth of an inclr.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 'I the cellular principle isretained but, instead of the cells being continuous from one side to theother of thereinforcing layer, they are separated by a division wallZOf'The side walls of the cells may be perpendicular to this divisionwall or they may be inclined with respect thereto, and also the cellssuch as 2l on one side of the division wall may be registrablysuperposed with respect to the cells such as 22 on the other sidethereof or. the cells 21 and 22 may have staggered relation.

In Fig. 8 is shown a modification of the enveloping--orrcoverng layerswherein 1 is a core or central layer of cellular construction such asVillustrated in Fig. 2, and 23 and 24 are respectively the upper andlower layers replacing the hereinbefore described'dayers of compressiblematerial. In this modification the covering layers 23 and 24 are sheetsof material having a surface which may be penetrated by the end edges ofthe cells of the core, the material contemplated includingcasting-metal, lead, soft c'opper or brass, type-metal and others, itbeing understood that the material used may or may not b'e softer thanthe metal of the cellular core. The inner surface of each of theselayers 23 and 24 may be previously scored, or not as preferred, toestablish seats for the edges of the cell walls.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may Vary the details ofconstruction and arrangements of parts within the scope of thisinvention without departing from the spirit of the invention, andtherefore it is not desired to be limited to the foregoing descriptionexcept as may be required by the claims.

1. A gasket comprising a layer of cellular material, the cells arrangedin rows, the cells of one row extending in a direction oblique withrespect to the cells in the next adjacent row; and a layer of materialcapable of being penetrated by the end edges of the cells of said firstnamed layer.

2. A gasket comprising a layer of cellular reinforcing material; and alayer of gasket material, the cells of the reinforcing layer arranged inrows with the central axes of said cells oblique to the surface of thelayers and inclined in opposite directions in alternate rows, saidlayers of reinforcing and gasket material being united by compressionwhich partially forces the gasket material within the cells of thereinforcing material and clamps the same thereto by crimping of the cellwalls.

3. A laminated gasket including a layer of reinforcing material composedof honey-combed cells having deformable partitions and a layer ofcompressible gasket material, the gasket material partially projectingwithin said honey-combed cells and retained therein by the deformationof the cells.

4. A laminated gasket including a layer of reinforcing materialconstructed of honey-combed cells having deformable side walls, exterioradjacent layers of compressible gasket material with projectingprotuberances extending within the cell passages and anchored therein byintercellular projections produced by the deformation of the side walls.

5. A laminated gasket including a layer of reinforcing materialconstructed of honey-combed cells having deformable side walls, exterioradjacent layersV of compressible gasket material with projectingprotuberances extending within the cell passages and anchored therein byinterior projections of the side walls when deformed by externalpressure.

6. A laminated gasket including a layer of reinforcing material composedof honey-combed cells having side walls adapted to be deformed underpressure, and an adjacent layer of compressible gasket material havingprotuberances projecting within the cells and anchored therein byrestriction of the internal area of thedeformed cells.

7. A laminated gasket including a central layer of reinforcing materialcomposed of honeycombed cells having side wallsadapted to be deformedunder pressure, and exterior adjacent layers of compressible gasketmaterial having protuberances projecting within the cells and anchoredtherein by restriction of the internal area of the deformed cells.

8. A gasket having a core layer of relatively rigid material withrecesses extending inwardly from opposite sides of said layer andseparated from each other by-a common division wall, and layers ofgasket material on opposite sides of said core layer adapted to bepressed into said recesses to compensate for variations in the contourof the surfaces between which the gasket is located.

9. A gasket having a core layer of relatively rigid material withrecesses extending inwardly from opposite sides of said layer andseparated from each other by a common division wall, said wall beingsubstantially parallel to the outer surfaces of said core layer, andlayers of gasket material on opposite sides of the said core layeradapted to be pressed into said recesses to compensate for variations inthe contour of the surfaces between which the gasket is located.

GEORGE A. BARKER.

